1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to viewable marking devices, and more particularly to an improved resilient viewable distance marker for use in golf courses along the length of a fairway.
2. Prior Art
Knowing the distance of a golf ball from a particular position on a fairway after being struck from a tee is quite important in the game of golf. This information not only provides the golfer with feedback as to the length of the initial drive from the tee, but also provides immediate information as to the distance from ball placement to the green of that particular fairway. When it is likely that, on the golfer's next shot, he will reach the green, this information becomes of even more importance.
One device known to applicant which serves this function is in the form of a concrete disc buried in the ground flush with the ground's surface so that mowing machines may pass there over without damage. Other objects used for this purpose are stakes or shrubbery planted on each side of the fairway in the rough away from normal mowing operations.
These above devices are unsatisfactory for their intended use. The concrete discs are difficult to see from any distance and typically result in delay of the game as a player searches for the marker. Likewise, shrubbery and stakes planted in the rough are often damaged or knocked down despite careful mower operator avoidance maneuvers.
Applicant is also aware of one prior art device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,067,717 to Imparato which teaches a portable resilient marker having a coiled spring member positioned just above the ground level as a lower extension thereof is embedded in the ground. However, this device would clearly become damaged or destroyed the first time that a fairway mower passes over it. Therefore, this device would require removal during normal mowing operations.
Applicant is also aware of the following references which were cited during that prosecution:
______________________________________ Kirk 2,774,323 Pellowski 3,362,305 Neaume 4,696,134 Hughes 4,862,823 ______________________________________
However, none of these references perform a function or have structure which is similar to that of the present invention.
Confronted with this problem, and being aware that a reel-type mower in either single or gang form is used for fairway mowing, applicant's two previous inventions were intended to provide a device which clearly satisfies this need and takes advantage of the inherent structural features of these reel-type mowers. A visual distance marker was provided as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,072,940 and 5,114,149 which is implanted or buried within the ground on the fairway having an upwardly extending marker strip which is of sufficient width, when placed generally transversely to the length of the fairway, so as to be viewable by a golfer from a significant distance there from. Additionally, the marker strip, being resilient in one direction because of its thinness, will be resiliently deflected downwardly against the ground as the mower is passed there over and then returning to its generally upright position thereafter without damage or the need for removal. However, in use, I realized that the exposed marker strips of these prior patents could not be easily seen when viewed from the edge thereof.
Another of my previous patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,897, represents a still further improvement over prior art, including my previous two referenced U.S. patents. This '897 patent discloses a resilient, tubular marker tube which extends downwardly into the tubular anchor member implanted in the ground and upwardly above the ground a distance sufficient for a golfer to view same from a useful distance. Through the utilization of preferred resilient elastomer or polyurethane marker tube in lieu of the flat plastic marker strips of my previous patents, that invention was intended to be virtually unaffected by mowing operations, regardless of the mowing direction of the fairway. Although overcoming poor marker visibility from certain directions, the '897 device has shown a tendency to experience occasional damage due to mowing operations.
The present invention provides yet further improvement over the prior art and my three previous U.S. patents by providing a marker member having an x- or cross-shaped cross section of preferably molded polyurethane to define four uniform radially extending fins or blades which not only provide clear visibility from all directions of view on the fairway, but also virtually eliminates all damage due to lawn mowing operations.